Today Ms. Bartek is trying to cover 5 chapters in one day. She is going over material by having students raise their hands to participate in a brief review. She reminds students that they need to write information down as she gives it too them. She also calls on students or exemplifies her voice during a lecture to catch their attention. The majority of these students respond via writing or verbally participating but I find that the most students take notes when Ms. Bartek has another student repeat to the class the information. Student explanation seems to be heard and paid attention more than her voice. Ms. Bartek also used a roller coaster diagram on the board to explain potential and kinetic energy. She has students answer her questions and she leads them to the answer using faces and verbal cues as to whether they are right or wrong. When students are not participating or taking notes or watching the board or their classmates, they are crunching up paper and aiming for the trash can, sketching "420" into their planner, talking amongst themselves, organizing their binders or applying chapstick by going around the lips 10 TIMES or more. About half way through the class period, Ms. Bartek noticed that Nolan, a freshman student in the back of the class, could not even see the board. He moved up to the front after the teacher suggested it.
Classroom management:
Ms. Bartek raises her hand to get students to be silent. When students talk out, she states out loud what she sees or hears, using people's first names. Sometimes a simple "Shh" or "Why is someone talking when I'm talking?" works to quiet the kids.
Reflections:
"The top reason [for dropping out of high school] given by the young people interviewed for the Civic Enterprises report was that they were bored and disengaged from high school" (The Science Teacher April/May 07). This fact is striking, as it has nothing to do with student grades, only student interest. Imagine all those students dropping out for reason that is can be fixed with just a little more effort. Student engagement is one of my top priorities as a teacher. I would like to employ student responses and student explanations because it seems to work for Ms. Bartek's class. I plan to start the class with something interesting, like a fact or story, so that my students can become focused on and/or excited about science. An alternative is having a small written assignment in the beginning of class to quiet them down and to get their brains working. I also plan to stand on desks sometimes to get their attention and liven up the class. The article quoted above said that community service projects really spark student interest and keep them motivated. It would be ideal if I could set something like this up with my own students. I believe it is easy to forget the little things like students not being able to see the board. Perhaps trying to connect verbally with the students in the beginning of class and asking them if they are focused and can see the board might not be a bad idea so Nolan doesn't miss half of the class.
Observations:
Today Ms. Bartek is trying to cover 5 chapters in one day. She is going over material by having students raise their hands to participate in a brief review. She reminds students that they need to write information down as she gives it too them. She also calls on students or exemplifies her voice during a lecture to catch their attention. The majority of these students respond via writing or verbally participating but I find that the most students take notes when Ms. Bartek has another student repeat to the class the information. Student explanation seems to be heard and paid attention more than her voice. Ms. Bartek also used a roller coaster diagram on the board to explain potential and kinetic energy. She has students answer her questions and she leads them to the answer using faces and verbal cues as to whether they are right or wrong. When students are not participating or taking notes or watching the board or their classmates, they are crunching up paper and aiming for the trash can, sketching "420" into their planner, talking amongst themselves, organizing their binders or applying chapstick by going around the lips 10 TIMES or more. About half way through the class period, Ms. Bartek noticed that Nolan, a freshman student in the back of the class, could not even see the board. He moved up to the front after the teacher suggested it.
Classroom management:
Ms. Bartek raises her hand to get students to be silent. When students talk out, she states out loud what she sees or hears, using people's first names. Sometimes a simple "Shh" or "Why is someone talking when I'm talking?" works to quiet the kids.
Reflections:
"The top reason [for dropping out of high school] given by the young people interviewed for the Civic Enterprises report was that they were bored and disengaged from high school" (The Science Teacher April/May 07). This fact is striking, as it has nothing to do with student grades, only student interest. Imagine all those students dropping out for reason that is can be fixed with just a little more effort. Student engagement is one of my top priorities as a teacher. I would like to employ student responses and student explanations because it seems to work for Ms. Bartek's class. I plan to start the class with something interesting, like a fact or story, so that my students can become focused on and/or excited about science. An alternative is having a small written assignment in the beginning of class to quiet them down and to get their brains working. I also plan to stand on desks sometimes to get their attention and liven up the class. The article quoted above said that community service projects really spark student interest and keep them motivated. It would be ideal if I could set something like this up with my own students. I believe it is easy to forget the little things like students not being able to see the board. Perhaps trying to connect verbally with the students in the beginning of class and asking them if they are focused and can see the board might not be a bad idea so Nolan doesn't miss half of the class.
**Class Topic: General Science
Grade: mainly 9th
Observed by: Samantha DeCuollo